Multnomah County primary roundup: 2 runoffs for board seats

Multnomah County voters have picked a new commissioner, with two more to be chosen in an expected runoff election this fall.

Three metro-area school measures failed, as did Mt. Hood Community College's bond, while voters were approving renewal of the Oregon Historical Society levy.

In the county board of commissioners race, Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, D-Portland, who ran unopposed, will take Judy Shiprack's District 3 seat.

Gresham city councilor Lori Stegmann and Veterans Administration union leader Amanda Schroeder are headed to a November runoff for outgoing Diane McKeel's District 4 seat, according to partial returns Tuesday. Stegmann led Schroeder 46 percent to 39 percent.

And in the contested race for Jules Bailey's District 1 seat, Sharon Meieran, an emergency room doctor, and Eric Zimmerman, chief of staff for McKeel, are also in a runoff. Meieran led Zimmerman 42 percent to 23 percent, according to partial returns.

The District 1 seat opened after Bailey decided to leave the nonpartisan five-member board and run for Portland mayor.

Meieran, backed by Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz, raised more than $106,000, more than any other candidate. She has said she wants to serve on the county board because she's seen too many people end up at the hospital in the midst of a mental health crisis, with nowhere else to go. Her priorities include housing, mental health and criminal justice reform.

Zimmerman, an Iraq war veteran, wants to focus on adding shelter beds, investing in infrastructure, and delivering culturally specific health care. He said Tuesday night he's eager to begin delving into the details with voters and talking about the issues the county faces.

"I'm excited to keep on moving forward," he said.

In the District 4 runoff, Stegmann, a registered Republican who grew up in Rockwood and works there as a Farmers Insurance agent, had raised significantly more money than Schroeder as of last week: $142,000 to more than $32,000.

Schroeder, a military veteran, had support from labor unions and leading state Democrats including House Speaker Tina Kotek of North Portland.

Tuesday's election decided whether or not to support school bonds at 21 Oregon districts. For the first time, many districts whose bonds were approved will receive additional funds from the state in the form of a matching grant.

Three districts in the Portland area had bonds on the ballot and all failed.

Voters shot down the Centennial School District's $85 million bond with about 57 percent voting no. About 43 percent voted in favor of the measure. If approved, the district would have also received a $7.1 million grant from the state.

The majority of the bond -- $72.9 million -- would have been allocated for a new middle school building, district spokesperson Carol Fenstermacher said.

Voters also said no to the Molalla River School District's $73.4 million bond. Forty-six percent of voters supported the measure, and 55 percent voted against it. If approved, the measure would have been coupled with a $4 million grant from the state.

Voters also have again rejected the Corbett School District's bond proposal.

The $11.9 million bond measure received 46 percent approval, according to partial returns. But 54 percent voted against the bond.

The bond would have been matched by a $4 million state grant. The 2016 measure marked the district's fourth attempt in recent years to get a bond approved by voters.

A $125 million bond measure to benefit Gresham-based Mt. Hood Community College failed, with just 43 percent of voters approving the plan and 57 percent against it.

The bond would have allowed Mt. Hood Community College to add two buildings, seismically retrofit others and pay off $27 million in debt.

Voters last approved new money for the college in 1974.

Community college officials and the business community in East Multnomah County were united behind the measure, but it proved not to be enough.

Multnomah County voters have agreed to keep funding the Oregon Historical Society with property tax money, extending a levy, first approved in 2011.

The levy passed 69 percent to 31 percent, according to returns Tuesday.

Renewal of the levy won't raise taxes but will maintain the current rate of a nickel per $1,000 of assessed value, generating about $2.5 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year. That adds up to about $10 a year for property with an assessed value of $200,000.

Also in Multnomah County, incumbent Rod Underhill, 55, ran unopposed and won his second four-year term Tuesday as Multnomah County district attorney.